Easing the pain of Chronic Pancreatitis and preventing Diabetes could be possible with a surgical operation called Pancreatic Islet Transplantation.
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How Does The Pancreas Work
To understand this procedure you first have to understand how the Pancreas works.
The pancreas has two duties that it does for our body. When you have Pancreatitis it can interfere with these important activities.
Exocrine Cells
The first thing that the Pancreas does involves it’s “exocrine” cells that produce some of the enzymes that help digest the food that we eat.
These exocrine cells produce these enzymes which are then released through a series of ducts that eventually get larger until they finally empty into the main pancreatic duct.
This main pancreatic duct runs the length of the pancreas and empties the enzyme fluids produced by the cells into the duodenum, which is the first part of the small bowel right after the stomach.
Pancreatic Islets
The second function that the Pancreas performs uses the endocrine pancreas. This part of the Pancreas is composed of small sections of cells called the Islets of Langerhans or the Pancreatic Islets.
The endocrine pancreas is made up of thousands of these Pancreatic Islets. Unlike the exocrine cells above, the pancreatic islets don’t release the secretions that they produce into the pancreatic ducts.
Rather, they release hormones such as insulin and glucagon directly into the blood stream. These hormones help our body to control blood sugar, glucose levels.
How Can Pancreatic Islet Transplantation Help You
If your Pancreas becomes too damaged through repeated attacks of Pancreatitis it can’t work well enough to perform the functions outlined above.
This is why many people who suffer from Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis have trouble controlling their blood sugars and become Type 2 Diabetics.
The Two Types Of Diabetics
For the purposes of this article there are two types of Diabetics, Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 Diabetics, often referred to as juvenile diabetes because the majority of cases start while a person is still young, produce no insulin on their own and are totally reliant on shots of insulin to control their blood sugar levels.
Type 2 Diabetics can produce some insulin but not enough so they need shots and or pills to keep their blood sugars under control.
The Effects of Pancreatitis
Sometimes, after extended and severe bouts of Pancreatitis the Pancreas is damaged enough that parts of it starts to die and must be removed.
With enough damage it becomes necessary to remove the entire Pancreas.
This is where an Pancreatic Islet Transplantation surgery comes in. This surgery can be done on people who still have some function in their Pancreas and are considered Type 2 diabetics.
What Happens During A Pancreatic Islet Transplantation
This is a simplified explanation of what happens during a Pancreatic Islet Transplantation surgery. It is done in a hospital where the patient receives a general anesthesia.
During a Pancreatic Islet Transplantation operation the Pancreas is completely removed from the patient.
Even though the Pancreas was damaged enough to force its’ removal it usually still has many viable Pancreatic Islets.
So the Pancreas that is removed is sent to a Lab which removes and purifies thousands of these Pancreatic Islets.
Then the Pancreatic Islets are infused back into the patient through a catheter into the liver. The goal is to give the body enough healthy Islets to allow it to produce insulin.
After A Pancreatic Islet Transplantation
After a successful operation the goal is for the Pancreatic islets to begin releasing insulin.
However, it can take some time for the blood vessel growth that is required for full islet function. Transplant recipients will usually take insulin injections until the islets become fully functional.
However, an autoimmune response could destroy the transplanted Islets so patients may also require various medications before and after transplantation to promote the successful implantation and long-term functioning of the islets.
Conclusion
A Pancreatic Islet Transplantation is not something that should be considered lightly and only taken when there are no other options.
Results of this surgery are mixed with some patients having a more successful outcome than others but in general it does remove the pain of Pancreatitis and usually improves insulin production.
Some patients go on to be totally healed of their Diabetes while others require less insulin than before the procedure.
if you have multiple pancreatic attacks.. if you have been diagnosed chronic.. the longer you put off an auto-islet transplant with pancreatectomy.. the less chance of success. also attempting other procedures like the fry.. may be ineffective and will remove even more pancreas material needed for successful islet harvest/transplant.
simple fact is, once the pancreas has been damaged.. there is much MUCH higher chance of pancreatic cancer.. which is usually not even detectable till it’s in final stages.